2021 Annual General Meeting (AGM) Results

Mystic River Rugby Club recently held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday, May 19^th. Thanks to all those who held positions during challenging times. The club is grateful to come out on the other side of this global pandemic in better shape than could have been expected.   Although club members were unable to meet face-to-face, marking the 2^nd consecutive year we’ve resorted to Zoom, thanks to everyone that joined to let their voices be heard and their votes counted. Here are the results of the AGM, with a few vacant positions still available.   President – David Rudzinsky Vice President – Nicholas St. Germain Treasurer – Ben Wallace Secretary – Ken Fagan Club Development Director – Michael Rudzinsky Social Secretary – TBD* Fixture Secretary – Jon Fonvielle Equipment Secretary – Joseph Kimemiah Field Secretary – Jon Gurczak Marketing Director – John Daly Social Media Officer – TBD* Player Development Director – Kayne Bubb Youth Director – Craig Weeks Charitable Director – TBD* Recruiting Officer – Phil Baker-Coe Ombudsman – Nick Fujiwara Old Boy Captain – Ken Fagan Board of Trustees – Fran Russell (joins incumbents Kevin Lyons & Brett Willis)   If there is any interest in the vacant positions, please reach out to Buzz at drudzinsky@gmail.comGO BLUE!! #TogetherWeFly

Mystic River Continues Undefeated Spring ‘21 Season

Hope you all had an excellent Memorial Day Weekend celebrating and remembering those that have served the United States of America. On Saturday, Mystic River Rugby Club played two matches to open up the New England Free Jacks’ Military Appreciation Day, where the Free Jacks would ultimately win their match, over the Toronto Arrows, 14-12.   But before that, with kickoff at 11am at Free Jacks Stadium in Weymouth, Mystic River’s Developmental side fought through the blustery New England weather and came away with a gritty 14-12 victory over the New England Independents, the Free Jacks Academy. From the start of the match, Mystic applied heavy pressure on the Independents with the wind at their backs, and it paid off when center Matt Kaltenbach intercepted an Independents pass from a scrum near their own 22 and trotted under the posts untouched for a converted try. The Independents managed to get on the scoreboard, so going into the half, Mystic led, 7-5.   The second half started out slow and conditions did not improve, as scrums were a recurring theme. The Independents went up 12-7 after scoring a converted try with a few minutes remaining. Mystic regathered their restart, and after all the hard work done by the forwards to get it to the goal line, knocked on with enough time for only one more scrum. The Mystic forwards gave a massive push up front and scrumhalf Nate Jakaitis forced the Independents’ scrumhalf to drop the ball while passing into his in-goal area, where Jakaitis’ quickness got him to the loose ball just in time to touch it down and tie it up 12-12. With no time left for a restart, Jakaitis lined the kick up from the right-side 15-meter hash, just inside the 22, and with confidence, slotted the game-winning conversion for Mystic River, making the final score 14-12.   Mystic River’s Premier side followed up by playing the Connecticut Selects (CT). The scoring opened with a try from fullback Nick Fujiwara after a perfect pass from wing Vini Daley. Then, the Cambridge boys connected again, this time Fujiwara finding Daley with space. After a CT yellow card, number 8 Cam Davidowicz beat two defenders off a 5-meter scrum as he centered a try, setting up an easy conversion. With the score 17-0, Mystic was awarded a penalty try and CT was shown another yellow card, making the score 24-0. Mystic was able to force one more turnover in CT territory, and after impressive hands in tough weather, wing Brian Patterson was there to finish and make it 31-0 at half.   Several minutes into the second half, Daley got downward pressure on a loose ball on CT’s goal line for another Mystic try, his second of the day, making it 36-0. Adnan Kawuma, co-captain center, didn’t waste any time before picking one from the base of a ruck deep in CT territory to make it 43-0. Center George Kokkalis put the finishing touches on the day with a crash line up the middle off of a scrum, sliding between the uprights to make the final score 50-0,Mystic. Mystic’s Premier side scored 8 tries on the day and converted 5 of them, including a penalty try.   This Saturday, 6/5, Mystic River is entering a side into a friendly NERFU tournament being hosted at the Irish Cultural Centre in Canton. Mystic will play Boston Rugby Club at 10:15am (Field 2) and Providence Rugby Club at 11:15am (Field 2) in pool play, and depending on pool play results, their final match will take place at 1:30pm or 2:30pm. This will close out Mystic River’s spring 15s season as they look to maintain their undefeated record by going 3-0 across 120 minutes of rugby (40 minute matches).   The men are also preparing for their annual sevens season, which will feature three Mystic teams (Premier, Developmental, Open) this summer, with more details coming soon. Sevens trainings areevery Tuesday & Thursday, beginningnext Tuesday, 6/8. Stay tuned for more updates!   Lastly, there will be more information coming out shortly regarding the Collegiate Select Side and their summer schedule, as well as the Mystic Youth Rugby Program and its upcoming start date of Monday, 6/21. Spread the word as we enter another decade of Mystic Youth Rugby, picking up right where we left off in 2019!   GO BLUE!! #TogetherWeFly

Mystic River Tough Out a Gritty Win in Houston

On 5/22/2021, Mystic River Rugby Club’s Premier side traveled to play the Houston Sabercats’ Academy Team, Rugby HTX. Mystic entered the match undefeated but knew they were facing a physical opponent. Mystic River kicked off and retained possession, and after a few penalties the co-captain connection put Mystic up 5-0, as center Adnan Kawuma popped an inside ball to lock Cody Davidowicz. Rugby HTX responded with 12 points by way of two tries, but Mystic was determined to close the deficit. Nearing HTX’s try line, Davidowicz made a great pass to fullback Nick Fujiwara who set up wing Vini Daley in the corner, untouched. With the score 10-12 at half, Mystic had more work to be done.   Mystic defended their own territory for the first 10 minutes of the second half but kept HTX from scoring. With roughly 20 minutes remaining, an HTX penalty gave scrumhalf Darren Chan the chance to split the uprights and regather a Mystic lead. Up 13-12, Mystic pinned the ball deep in HTX territory and the forwards grinded away up front until Kawuma picked off the base of the ruck to dive across and make it 18-12. With almost no time left, HTX scored right under the posts but missed the conversion, giving Mystic the victory, 18-17.   Mystic’s Man of the Match was lock Jon Fonvielle whose defensive prowess set the tone all day, firing off the line, tackling everything in sight. He also ran superb support lines and constantly helped Mystic secure possession, especially in breakdown and contact areas.   Thank you to all of the young, old, new, and original Mystics that supported the club in Houston throughout the weekend. Thank you all for representing the family that is Mystic River Rugby Club.   This Saturday, 5/29, Mystic River’s Premier & Developmental sides play matches against the Connecticut Selects and the New England Independents U23, respectively. The matches will be played at Union Point Sports Complex in Weymouth as curtain raisers to the New England Free Jacks’ home match against the Toronto Arrows, which starts at 4:00pm ET.   Come down to Union Point and join the rest of The Flock for Mystic’s first match at 11:00am ET! Saturday, 5/29 @ Union Point Sports Complex, Weymouth, MA: 11:00am ET - Mystic Developmental vs. New England Independents U-231:00pm ET – Mystic Premier vs. CT Selects4:00pm ET – New England Free Jacks vs. Toronto Arrows (tickets required…details to follow)   GO BLUE!!#TogetherWeFly